AN: Okay, my muse for this story is currently on holiday for this story - you have no idea how hard it was just to write this chapter - so I might take a break from it for a while. My other current story, the Reinforced Series, has loads of options available, so I might focus on that for a while. On the other hand, I could start a completely new story, I do have two particular ideas in mind at present. One idea is a Harry Potter and FEAR crossover with some rather heavy inspiration from Devil May Cry. The other idea floating around in my head is a Naruto and Final Fantasy crossover, though it's more the summons from Final Fantasy and some of the history (maybe a few extra bits, like Jenova) than anything more 'fused'.
Beta'd by: NIX'S WARDEN
Chapter 17 – More Stuff Happens
Kiritsugu, for perhaps the first time in his life, had trouble keeping his face blank and not breaking out into gales of laughter. As it was, only someone who knew him well and recognised the almost unnoticeable signs would realise that he was quivering ever so slightly with silent laughter.
The reason?
The instant they'd returned to the Einzbern castle, as soon as they'd stepped through the door in fact, Maya's clothing had been transformed into a well-fitted tuxedo and she'd began serenading Irisviel with a rather elaborate routine. Just how it had begun raining rose petals, and just where the music was coming from, Kiritsugu didn't know.
He believed that Avenger had done it.
Kiritsugu didn't know quite what to think of that Servant. He was tricky, not honourable like most 'heroes' tended to be, and he obviously had some sort of agenda. However, his agenda did not seem to include the elimination of other Servants. That had been proven earlier, because now that he thought about it, Avenger had actually gone out of his way to prevent any of the Servants from being defeated.
Another cause for concern was how familiar he had acted with Irisviel. Not like he knew her or had known her before, but more like he had heard about her from someone who did know her, and was fond of her at least. Perhaps he should get Irisviel to seek the strange Servant out.
That would be putting a lot of trust in someone who should be an enemy, but it was also a logically sound move. Avenger was already aware that Irisviel was not Saber's master, and the fact that she had been out in the open made it clear that Kiritsugu was not above using her as a distraction. The fact that she was the vessel of the Lesser Grail also meant the war relied on her continued existence, so it was unlikely that Avenger would try and kill her.
That was the issue with Avenger addressed, leaving the other Servant and master pairs to deal with. Kiritsugu already knew where Kayneth Archibald was staying, and he had no qualms about blowing up the entire building just to kill one man. He did not know where Rider and his master, one Waver Velvet, were staying, but as there seemed to have been no major unexpected bounded fields set up recently, his defences shouldn't be too difficult to bypass.
Gilgamesh, the King of Heroes, was a foe he was doubtful that his Saber could would be able to defeat in a straight up fight, like she would insist upon due to her 'honour'. Berserker was another troublesome opponent, but from what his familiars had seen, the mad Servant's master was dying already. Kariya Matou was in such bad shape that there was a more than decent chance the man wouldn't live long enough to see the end of the war.
"Oh my, Maya, I don't know what to say." Irisviel clasped her hands under her chin, a rather heavy blush staining her cheeks. She might know that Maya wasn't doing it willingly, but the entire display had been, dare she say it, magical!
Maya was shaking with embarrassment as she got to her feet, her performance having finished with her on one knee before the German homunculus with a rather beautiful bouquet in her hand, presenting it to Irisviel. She quickly backed away and returned to Kiritsugu's side, though another may have said she was more... 'hiding' behind him than anything else.
It was just a flicker, but for one single moment, Kiritsugu Emiya's expression softened into an amused smile.
xxxxx
Waver Velvet was scribbling away in a small notepad held in his hand.
The boy knew he was heavily outclassed in this Grail War, but he had thought he was ready to prove himself, to make a statement. He wanted there to be no doubt that talent can trump heritage, that a good magus isn't necessarily the one with the greater history behind them.
However, no amount of planning or theoretical work would truly be able to prepare one for the reality that was the Grail War. Only someone who is used to the same level of power that Servants are capable of would really be able to understand just what they were getting themselves into.
The results of this revelation could clearly be seen in the slightly manic look in the boy's eyes. Every page of the notebook he was holding held whatever details he had gleaned regarding the other Servants, quite a few of them now being named, and various plans on how to take them down.
Unfortunately, those plans oscillated between unlikely to work and just plain ridiculous.
Fortunately, Waver was aware as to how bad his plans were. In the end, he believed that his best option for the Grail War was to partner up with another master and Servant pair, but... well, Rider seemed to have a tendency of rubbing them the wrong way, and Waver was frankly scared of some of them.
First off was his old teacher, Kayneth El-Melloi Archibald. There was simply no way that a partnership was going to work there, Waver had stolen the man's relic after all, and such things didn't exactly come cheap or easily. Also, his Servant and former teacher had already shown an inclination towards insulting each other, so... yeah, that was a no go.
The Einzbern master looked nice and friendly. The white-haired, red-eyed woman had seemed cheerful, bubbly, and not too much older than Waver himself – what? He might be in a war, but he was still a hormonal teenager, and Irisviel von Einzbern was very attractive – but he didn't know how the blue Saber would react to Rider. Obviously, she felt that he had insulted her when he'd asked if any of them wanted to join his army, but just how badly had she taken it?
Berserker was off the table. It was well known as the 'mad' Servant for a very good reason, and there were few that could control said Servant class properly, and judging by what Waver had seen, Berserker hadn't really been following its orders at all. Waver needed help, not something as unreliable as a guard dog that would just as likely savage its own master as not.
With Lancer and Saber both being thrown out, that left Archer as the only other Knight Class. However, Waver had seen the awesome power that Archer had used on such a small nuisance as Assassin, goodness knows what tricks he had up his sleeves to deal with something a little more powerful, and if Waver was going to have any success with an alliance, he had to have something useful himself, though there was a chance that Archer's master, Tokiomi Tohsaka, would agree to a non-aggression pact, at least for a short while.
Assassin wasn't an option, and even if it was, Waver was leery of the Servant Class on principle, as working with them would mean leaving himself open to an attack of opportunity from his 'ally'.
That didn't leave many options. There was that other Saber that had fought the blue Saber, but as her master had not even put in an appearance, he had no means of contacting them and asking for assistance. With all of that in mind, there was really only one choice, and Avenger was one of the reasons he actually wanted an alliance.
Avenger... even the Servant Class title sent shivers up Waver's spine. A Saber used a sword, an Archer a bow, A Lancer a spear, and so and so forth. If a Berserker was mad, what then was an Avenger? Strictly speaking, an 'avenger' would be one who does harm to one who has in some way harmed another. The act of causing harm to the one who previously did so 'balancing' things out in a sense.
It was a very 'eye for an eye' sort of thing, but how did that relate to Servants? Did Avenger possess some sort of ability or Noble Phantasm that would... what, cause an attacker to suffer the same damage he did? That would be logical, but Waver wasn't sure that logic could be applied to Servants.
After all, they were Heroic Spirits, and what was a hero but someone who was remembered for defying the odds?
"Ah, what am I to do?" Waver groaned, catching sight of his own wilful Servant out of the corner of his eye.
xxxxx
"Explain it to me again, Kirei." Tokiomi Tohsaka said to his apprentice.
"Avenger, the irregular Servant, is interfering with the masters. He has already established a positive relationship with the master of Saber, and prevented Rider and Lancer from killing one another. He also abstained from attempting to kill Berserker, instead merely delaying him until he was recalled." Kirei replied.
Tokiomi sighed. He wished he had seen the battle himself, but Gilgamesh was too proud to allow another to look through his eyes, and regardless of that, he had not even been at the docks. He had declined to follow what Tokiomi had... requested of him, wasting his time elsewhere.
However, perhaps this was to Tokiomi's advantage. As Archer had not been there, there was no opportunity for anyone to attempt to work out more about him. On the other hand, Tokiomi now knew more about all of the other Servants in this war, as well as their masters.
Knowing the strengths and weaknesses of the Servants, or even better their identities, made things a lot easier on any halfway competent strategist. However, like all real life engagements, there was always an unknown element, and this conflict had a rather blatant one in this 'Avenger'.
"Kirei, is it possible for the Church to declare this 'Avenger' Servant an unnecessary complication in the war and have it hunted down?" Tokiomi asked, knowing that Command Seals could be used as a 'reward' for the one to fix such things, and if he wanted a snowflake's chance in hell of properly directing Gilgamesh, he'd need as many as he could get.
"No." Kirei replied. "There is a precedent, as the Einzbern Servant of the third war was also of the Avenger class."
"Another irregular Servant?" Tokiomi murmured, internally wishing that the Tohsaka master had taken better notes than he had. "Does the church have any information on that Servant or what its abilities were? Perhaps we are dealing with the same Servant once again."
"I have been informed that the church has almost no information on the previous Avenger." Kirei told him. "It was weak and died very early in the war, so the likelihood of this being the same Servant summoned once again is considered quite low."
"How unfortunate." Tokiomi mused. "That is all for now, Kirei. Contact me if any of your Assassins have a report to pass on to me, especially if you discover who or what is killing them off so quickly."
"Understood." Kirei acknowledged.
xxxxx
Helel looked up from the book she was reading when she caught movement out of the corner of her eye. She raised an eyebrow when she saw a mildly shaking Harry in front of her. She might have said he was pale as well, if it wasn't for the fact his skin was literately silvery-white, and he blushed grey, but what really caught her attention was the horribly violated look in his blank eyes.
"What happened to you, and where's your blindfold gone?" She asked bluntly, not feeling up to dancing around the subject.
"I...I...I feel so utterly mind-fucked right now." Harry whimpered. "And my Breaker Gorgon... I think I'm going to leave that where it is right now." His hand twitched, and then said blindfold appeared in his grip, but that only made Harry shiver uncomfortably for some reason Helel couldn't fathom.
A chuckle from the doorway drew both Harry and Helel's attention.
"Well, Illya was just telling me about how you were seducing her mother, but it looks like you've been busy since then. Who's the lucky girl?" Aphrodite asked, her eyes gleaming with amusement as she saw Harry curl up into a ball, with a rain cloud appearing over his head.
Helel blinked at that, prodding said cloud to make sure she wasn't just seeing things. Aside from having the same firmness and bounce of a sponge, the cloud seemed to be quite real, and the rain was real enough that it was getting the floor wet.
"I thought this sort of thing only happened in anime." Helel muttered to herself, though her only real knowledge of anime was what was downloaded into her head when she was first summoned.
Helel then decided to explain what Harry had just gotten back from. "He went to his Soul World in order to meet with his two newest aspects, protectiveness and affection, I can only assume that one of them, probably the latter, got a little too affectionate with Harry."
Aphrodite blinked dumbly. "Really?" She asked. "Wow, that's just... I don't know what to say to that." She then took another look at Harry, and a mischievous glimmer returned to her expression. "Maybe his tastes really are changing. I had thought he preferred older women, but does he have a thing for the younger ones too?"
She wandered over to Harry and knelt down beside him. Grinning impishly, she stage-whispered into his ear. "In case you missed the memo, Irisviel von Einzbern is still about a month and a half off ten years old."
"I will hit you." Harry grumbled, turning blank eyes on Aphrodite. "Female or not, goddess or not, if you keep this up then I will have no choice but to hurt you, and in my anger, my wrath shall descend upon all those who have wronged me in a great tide of cursed evil so thick as to drown the highest mountain, and vile enough to give Akasha itself nightmares for aeons left to come."
"Done?" Aphrodite asked, completely unconcerned with the threat.
"Done." Harry sighed, getting to his feet. The rain cloud vanished as well, and Harry took a moment to dry his clothes and the floor.
"Good boy!" Aphrodite patted him on the head, earning her a glare from Harry, though it lacked heat.
"Why did she have to be like that?" Harry muttered under his breath. He wished his 'encounter' with Warped Caress could have been more like his initial meetings with Tyrant, Serial Phantasm, or Dream or Destruction. Back then he might not have known exactly what he was doing, necessitating him to re-merge with them in a very literal sense, but did Warped Caress have to use such an... 'intimate' method of 'fixing' the break in his soul. Heck, all Ruinous Aegis had required was a verbal agreement for darkness sake!
"I'm not going to ask." Aphrodite affirmed. "I have a feeling that I really don't want to know what happened."
"Hey, 'Dite, have you finished trying to chat Harry up?" Illya asked, wandering in the door, closely followed by Jack and Mordred. Jack made a beeline straight to her 'father', who proceeded to put one arm around her shoulders as she buried her blood-stained face into his shirt.
Aphrodite gave a small grin at the sight. "If that's any sign of his potential as a father, I might just do that at some point, but I'm not interested in chasing any guys right now, so no, I am not 'finished' chatting him up as I didn't even start in the first place."
Mordred ignored the banter, focusing only on Harry.
"What's going to happen next?" She growled at him. "You're the puppet master, make your dolls dance already."
Harry huffed. "I am not a 'puppet master', I just throw a lot of confusion into things and point people in a particular direction. Is it my fault that they don't think about where they're going and end up where I want them?" He asked askance.
Mordred didn't look at all impressed.
"Fine, fine! You're no fun." Harry sighed, materialising the golden threads of Fate in his hands. "Anyway, it seems Kiritsugu's plan to blow up the hotel Kayneth's in is still on track, not that it'll result in anything but property damage, and... oh? Irisviel is to seek me out? Huh, unexpected. The masters are getting wound up and tense, with Kariya and Waver being the most desperate? Hmm, I'll keep an eye on them. Aside from that, nothing major unless I instigate it for now."
Illya raised an eyebrow. "What, are you not going to instigate something?"
"There's not much need right now." Harry replied. "The masters are all wound up and twitchy due to what happened at the docks, so they'll be jumping at shadows. It'll take some time for Rider's natural charisma to get through to Waver, so there's no need to rush there, Saber's not going anywhere, Kiritsugu's too cautious to just throw her at an enemy, and I also have to wait on Dream finishing an alternate grail vessel."
"How long will that take?" Illya asked, wondering when it'd be okay to finally start killing off the Servants properly.
"Only a few hours." Harry told her. "Dream's confident that she can easily have it done before dawn."
"Good." Mordred growled out. "I am itching to fight my... 'father' once more."
"Hmm." Harry added, non-committally, looking around. He frowned as he noticed something, or more accurately a lack of something. "Where's Tamamo? She's usually the first to try and jump all over me, and yet I can't detect her within this reality." He nudged his link with her, and found that she was purposefully occluding their connection for some reason.
"She said she had something to talk about with people back home." Illya shrugged. "She went back with Nel, who's gone to report her findings inside Kariya Matou's mind to Sakura."
"And that makes me worry for my virtue, or it would if I was a virgin." Harry muttered, twitching slightly in apprehension.
He ignored the muffled giggling and laughter around him.
xxxxx
V/V watched as the building in front of her exploded. Thankfully, the building fell straight downwards and not off to one side where it could have killed a fair number of people. She turned her head to observe the human female who was also watching the explosion.
"Was that really necessary?" She asked. "It's not like it worked either."
Maiya Hisau jerked in surprise, and without a moment's hesitation, she dived into cover, readying her gun.
V/V didn't move from her spot and simply observed the woman. However, she wasn't completely idle. Out of sight, weeds and grasses that peeked up between paving slabs grew up the building. It was a rather subtle use of a TYPE's blunt power of terraforming and transformation, but being subtle was something that V/V had picked up a bit since she'd been infected by human concepts.
Of course the bulbs she'd scattered about, ready to transform into her 'angels', were a lot less subtle, but living with Harry had also taught her that being safe and having a back up plan was always a good idea. She doubted she'd need such against a regular human, but she had the option to use them anyway.
Maiya cursed under her breath, wondering how someone had gotten so close to her without her noticing. When she peeked around the support strut she was hidden behind, she saw something she really wasn't expecting to see. Her 'opponent' looked like a regular fifteen year old girl, or she would if it wasn't for the single pair of white wings attached to her back.
She levelled her gun at the strange, and strangely calm, girl.
"Don't move." Maiya said to her. "Identify yourself or be shot."
"Is it not polite in Japan to introduce oneself first?" V/V innocently wondered. "Oh well, I'll ask Harry about it later. Oh, and as I already know who you are, miss Hisau, I suppose I should introduce myself."
She curtsied, having learnt how to do so fairly recently.
"My name is V/V, or False Angel V/V if you prefer, and I am TYPE Venus." V/V smiled.
Maiya scoffed, but did not lower her gun at all. "That's ridiculous."
V/V shrugged. "It does sound rather far-fetched, doesn't it? However, it is the truth, and that's what matters."
"How come you look so human then?" Maiya challenged her.
"I was always considered the TYPE most similar to life on earth, even if I am more flora based than fauna." V/V admitted. "As for my form, I became... infected, for lack of a better term, with human concepts. Before it happened, I was little more than a puppet, or perhaps a robot, following along with what I was supposed to do."
She span on the spot, her dress catching the breeze. "Humans though, you have all of these emotions, these feelings! An animal does what it has to in order to ensure their species survives, but humans are so wonderfully self-destructive and contradictory. They do things because they like them or because they hate them, they have such strange ideas in their minds, and they can say one thing, mean another, and then do something completely different. It's so confusing, but oh so amazing!"
Maiya, deciding that she'd questioned the insane girl enough – possibly an escaped experiment or something – shot the girl in the leg, or more accurately, tried to shoot her in the leg.
A thick green vine had put itself between Maiya and her target. Goodness knows what that vine was made of, but the bullet hadn't done anything more than blow a chunk of it off. Another vine had wrapped itself around Maiya's gun, while even more seemed to grab at the woman.
She jumped, flipping over the vines, drawing a handgun out of a holster on her leg. The moment she was on her feet again, Maiya was already turning to both fire on the blonde girl and dive into cover. More vines put themselves between the two females, soaking up the bullets that would have hit V/V.
The TYPE frowned a little sadly.
She remembered what had happened before she'd met Harry quite clearly. She remembered how she'd been willing to die so that she did not re-awaken her old body, which would have resulted in it spawning billions of angels. She had died so that humans might live.
Now she would support Harry in this war, partially due to the bond they shared, but mostly due to her own desire to see Angra Mainyu gone. V/V could admit to herself that she had a soft spot for the human race, and she greatly admired their ability to push on and not give up. They were an adaptable lot humans, and that's why they almost always survived.
One of her vines caught a sword thrown her way, drawing her out of her thoughts. It seemed Kirei Kotomine had joined the fight. Odd that, V/V had thought they'd already changed the fourth Grail War enough to make them do some things differently.
Either they hadn't, or Harry was behind it, and as Harry would probably think that boring, she was betting on the other reason.
"Kirei Kotomine." V/V greeted the man, her tone of voice unsure.
She did not quite know what to think of him. On one hand, there was the man who had wanted to bring about suffering in others because it brought him joy. On the other hand, there was the blank slate that he currently was. He could so easily be pushed in one direction or another, all it would take is someone with a sufficiently smooth tongue.
"Fake angel." Kirei 'greeted' her right back.
V/V tilted her head back and watched her own wings flap once, completely ignoring the bullets Maiya fired her way, as each one was intercepted by one of her vines, vines that were steadily transforming into monstrous and alien 'things'.
"Does that... annoy you, as a man of God?" V/V asked. "I am not a true angel, but my form is based on the modern interpretation of their image."
"As a member of the church, meeting a true angel would be a blessing." Kirei spoke in something that was almost a monotone, also ignoring the bullets flying through the air and the vines that stopped them reaching anyone. "I do not hate those that look like angels, for that would mean I would loathe the nativity plays of children as well, would it not?"
"I suppose." V/V commented, one of her vines idly knocking a smoke grenade away from them. "Though I don't suppose you'd turn down a meeting with a real angel, would you?"
"I would not." Kirei replied. "I have many questions only an angel or God himself could answer."
V/V kept half an eye on Maiya, simultaneously keeping Kiritsugu at the edge of her senses as well. "I don't know about the biblical god, but I know someone who is in contact with some angels. Perhaps I'll ask him if one would be willing to speak with you?"
"I would be most grateful if you did so, woman." Kirei internally frowned. He did not understand this female, and he doubted she truly was TYPE Venus, that claim was ridiculous. She was more likely some form of phantasmal beast than a TYPE, but either way, he was... curious about her, and that offer to put him in contact with an angel of the lord was both unexpected and intruiging.
V/V turned her attention towards Maiya, who had so far been unable to either escape or actually harm either of them. V/V frowned, embarrassed that she'd forgotten what she'd initially intended to say to the woman, and decided that she might as well end this 'encounter'.
One of her vines lashed out and wrapped itself around Maiya's ankle, tossing her over the edge of the building. Her aim was good though, and V/V had tossed Maiya directly at Kiritsugu, and he would be able to catch her. She turned back to Kirei long enough to give him a wave, before she jumped off the building as well, flying away with her beautiful wings spread wide.
"A 'false' angel." Kirei muttered to himself, watching her. "But an angel all the same."
xxxxx
Harry sat on the roof of his temporary dwelling, watching the velvety black night sky slowly give way to the early dawn light. In the building below him, his Servants were doing their own thing; Tamamo was playing with Jack, Helel was reading a book, seemingly developing a love for the Narnia books, Illya and Aphrodite had descended into 'girl talk', along with Holly, while Mordred was the only one who seemed to have any interest in simply sleeping.
V/V was elsewhere in the city, idly investigating one thing or another that caught her attention. Undoubtedly, if it wasn't the mild notice-me-not that Harry had thrown up over Fuyuki City then there would be a lot of 'strange' things being reported in the news.
A weight settled against Harry's side, a waterfall of silvery-white hair cascading down Harry's chest. The woman, or at least a being that wore the form of an adult woman, rested her head on Harry's shoulder. She looked up at the sky as well, her ruby coloured eyes focused on one particular star.
"Have you considered our idea?" Serial Phantasm asked.
"I have." Harry replied.
"Do you think it viable?" Seri continued.
"Possibly." Harry answered.
"You don't like it?" Seri wondered aloud.
"Becoming a creator god of my own pantheon?" Harry chuckled. "I can live with it."
He wrapped one arm around Serial Phantasm's shoulders as he sat upright. "It wasn't that which I was thinking about though, it's this war. What am I doing here? I aimed to save this world's Sakura, kill Gilles de Rais before he could harm so many children, and prevent Irisviel von Einzbern's death. I've done the first two, and the last one will be sorted once Dream finishes constructing an alternate vessel for the defeated Servants. All that's left is to absorb this world's Angra Mainyu and destroy the Grail. Why am I just hanging around like this?"
"Because you're a bleeding heart?" Twisted Whisper snarked, appearing slightly behind Harry and Serial Phantasm. "Seriously, what the fuck are you doing 'saving lives' and all this shit? Just end this war and go already."
Shadow of the Heart also appeared, already rolling his eyes at Twisted Whisper. "We're doing what we always do, whatever the hell we want. Origin has decided he's staying, so he is. Yeah, I'm kinda itching to beat them into the ground, but that would be so boring, messing with them is so much more fun."
"No one asked you, jackass." Whisper snarled at Shadow.
"No one asked for your opinion either." Tyrant appeared, smacking Twisted Whisper over the head with the flat of her blade, before turning to address Harry. "And Origin, what the hell was with you taking my sword?! I almost got a black eye when my weapon disappeared from my hands!"
"My apologies, Tyrant." Harry sighed. "I only realised something like that might happen after I'd already called for it."
"Tch, fine." Tyrant huffed. "It was fun beating his ass with just my fists, so it's not that big of a deal."
An extra pair of arms wrapped themselves around Harry, and a throaty, sensuous voice whispered into his ear. "If Tyrant doesn't want to collect on it, I'd be willing to do it for her. I cou-" Warped Caress was cut off with a yelp as she was pulled off Harry by Ruinous Aegis. Chains them erupted from the shadows and wrapped themselves tightly around her body.
Harry purposefully ignored the lusty moan and suggestive noises that Caress gave off as the chains tightened around her. He was already traumatised enough by what she'd attempted to do to him the last time they'd met.
"Thank you for the assist, Aegis." Harry thanked his mostly silent aspect, who merely nodded in response.
"We're almost all here." Shadow commented, looking around. "Only Dream is missing, though I'm sure she'll turn up when she's finished making a new grail vessel."
"How wonderful." Twisted Whisper muttered, earning him a warning growl from Shadow.
"Isn't it just?" Serial smirked at Whisper. "We are the only ones who will be by Origin's side at every moment of every day, from now until eternity ends."
There was a short silence as they digested that information. It was a known fact, even if it was rarely spoken aloud, that human souls degraded over time, and even non-human souls did too. A human could expect to last roughly five hundred years spiritually, and if they wanted to last longer than that, they would have to rest.
If Sirius decided to accompany Harry as he journeyed and adventured throughout the omni-verse, he would need to rest every half a millennium, and everyone Harry knew would eventually have to rest as well. Only Harry, with his perpetually self-repairing soul, would be able to endure an eternity without degradation, and only his fragments would be available whenever he needed them.
It was a rather depressing thought really.
Serial Phantasm nudged him, bringing him out of his thoughts. "Like I said, no matter what happens, we will always be here for you." She told him.
Shadow of the Heart snorted. "Yeah, no matter what." He glanced towards the chained up Warped Caress and smirked. "No matter whether you want us around or not."
Warped Caress somehow managed to speak around the chain in her mouth that was acting as a gag. "You'll never be rid of me!" She chirped. "Now, as fun as it is to be chained up, why don't we get to what comes afterwards, unless you want to do some roleplay?"
One small part of Harry's mind wondered how Warped Caress managed to make that sound as sensual as she did, while another part tried to viciously stab that part of his mind repeatedly.
Harry inhaled, and then exhaled, a loose lock of hair blowing out as he did so. He thought about things for a few short moments. What was it he really wanted out of this war? Get rid of Caster and his master? Check. Save Irisviel von Einzbern? Check, or at least it's in progress. Save Sakura Matou? Check. Absorb this world's Angra Mainyu and destroy the Grail System completely? That he hasn't done yet.
"You could help Iskander bring Waver into his own." Shadow suggested, the mental connection between the aspects and Harry letting him know where his thoughts were heading. "It's strange even for me to try and compare the grouchy bugger you know with the kid that fights in the fourth Grail War."
Harry gave Shadow of the Heart a flat look. "Waver is older than me, even now. He's nineteen, I'm fifteen, and he's not a 'kid'."
Twisted Whisper chuckled condescendingly. "Hate to break this to you, but Waver is a child. He had no fucking clue how to fight this war, and he entered it simply for 'prestige'. If you ask me, those are the actions of a whiny brat acting out to get attention."
"I've been more impulsive at times, and far more of an idiot too." Harry countered. "Just remembering the fifth Grail War makes me want to bash my own skull in."
"I never said you were without fault, idiot." Whisper mocked him, earning himself several warning looks from the other aspects. Tyrant even clenched her blade tighter, and Shadow had manifested several knives in each hand. Twisted Whisper was certainly not making any friends, not even amongst the other aspects of Harry. Heck, even Warped Caress was glaring at him.
"Enough." Harry commanded them. "Regardless of anything else, we're all stuck with each other, so either get along or find your own corner of the Soul World to hide in."
Twisted Whisper huffed and grumbled, but he did settle down as well. As much as he may deny it, the other aspects, including Harry, were the closest thing to family he had, and one thing that all of the aspects had inherited from Harry was a strong love of family.
They all stayed quiet for a while, simply resting. It made a change to the constant research, design, and experimentation that Harry normally indulged in, or the fast-paced combat that Tyrant loved so much. They were all waiting, all of them aware that the group would not be complete until Dream or Destruction arrived with a completed alternate grail vessel.
Of course, almost half an hour later when she did turn up, everyone was nice and relaxed. That meant, the excitable and perpetually cheery DoD was almost impaled by a dozen weapons held by her 'siblings'.
"Done! Done! It's D-D-D-Done!" Dream almost sang, nimbly avoiding the weapons stabbed at her. "The super awesome, mega perfect Dream or Destruction has constructed an alternate grail vessel! Yay, give me a cheer!"
Harry blinked in mild surprise when the final fantasy victory tune suddenly rang out from thin air.
"Glad to hear that, Dream, anything I can do for you in return?" He asked.
Dream set the grail vessel down as she thought about what she wanted, before a wide smile split her face in two, putting all of her sharp teeth on display.
"Two things!" Dream said. "I want a cuddle, and I want new materials to study!"
Harry chuckled, pulling Dream or Destruction into a hug. The aspect, in the form of a young female, seemed to really like this, wrapping her own arms around him and burying her face into his chest, not put off at all by the gouge where his heart used to be.
"Have you already finished looking at those samples of, what did Zelretch call it, Pandora stigmata?" Harry queried.
"Yep!" Dream nodded her head. "I've also been looking at the 'High-End Skills' from that world too, so there's nothing really left for me to research there."
Harry hummed in thought for a moment. "Well, we've got a lot of magical achievements and research under our belts... perhaps we should look at more 'mundane' things." He began to think of the things he and DoD had already done. Giant mecha? Done. Nanomachines? Harry had them in his body already, as did Sirius. Electronics and engineering seemed to be covered, so maybe he could expand the biological side of things?
Harry reached out a hand, the shadows coalescing there to form a sealed container of some sort. Dream looked at it with interest, especially considering the hazard warnings stuck on it, and her eyes gleamed with curiosity and the desire to understand everything she laid eyes upon.
"In here is something from yet another world." Harry told Dream or Destruction. "These are cells from a being known as 'Jenova', or 'the calamity from the skies'. It's genetic structure is a two-way transfer, being able to insert itself into other organisms, or take on traits from those it infects. Of course, that's only at the most basic level, what else it can do, I leave up to you to discover, I have a feeling there's a lot more to it than is currently known."
Dream let out a squeal of joy and clapped her hands together.
"Thank you!" She cried, reaching out to grab the container, but Harry pulled it away from her.
"Before you take this away, remember to be very careful with it. It's possible that Jenova is equivalent to a TYPE or greater, I'm not exactly sure, but its cells are nigh indestructible, and it spreads like a plague. I don't want to have to purge anyone or anything, but I will if I have to, you got that?" Harry cautioned her.
"Yes, I understand." Dream nodded seriously, her demeanour losing a lot of its childishness as the mad scientist within her took the front seat this time. "The samples and anything that might be contaminated by them will be completely contained until I have a thorough understanding of the material."
"Good girl." Harry patted her on the head with one hand, handing her the container with the other.
Dream smiled at Harry, happy to have his praise. Before she disappeared though, something caught her eye. She looked out to the street before turning back to Harry.
"Hey, isn't that Illya's mom?" She asked.
Harry looked in the direction Dream pointed, despite the fact such an action was unnecessary.
"Yes." Harry answered her. "That is indeed Irisviel von Einzbern."
xxxxx
Irisviel von Einzbern wasn't entirely sure what she was doing randomly wandering through Fuyuki. Oh, she knew that Kiritsugu had asked her to try and get information out of Servant Avenger and his master, but just what exactly he wanted to know was a mystery to her.
The entire time she'd been walking, she'd felt like there were eyes on her. True, Kiritsugu's familiars were watching out for her, but it felt like there was more than them out and about. She'd seen the explosion earlier, and knew that meant Kiritsugu and Maiya had accomplished their task for the night.
Saber had been ordered to try and hunt down Rider as discretely as possible. For such a loud and large Servant, the man could certainly hide better than Kayneth Archibald. There was no mention of any Waver Velvet in any hotel in Fuyuki, not even a bed and breakfast, and Kiritsugu knew he owned no property there.
That meant he was either 'squatting', if that was the correct term, or had hypnotised, bribed, or extorted his way into another's home. While some might find this distasteful, or 'below' them, it was so far proving to be the most effective means of hiding in this war.
"You know, it's not exactly safe to wander around alone at night." A voice from beside Irisviel spoke, making said woman almost jump out of her skin in surprise.
"A-Avenger!" Irisviel stuttered, getting her heart to stop trying to jump out of her chest.
Harry, back in his Avenger guise, chuckled. "Yes, me. Were you, perchance, looking for me?"
"I was." Irisviel answered him honestly.
Harry quirked an eyebrow at that. "I'm honestly flattered, Miss Einzbern, but last I heard, you were a married woman."
Irisviel blushed bright red at the implication, and without thinking, slapped Avenger across the face. It was only after she'd done so that she realised that it probably wasn't the best response. You know, super powerful legend against above-human power homunculus? Yeah, there's no question who would win that fight.
Harry, however, just laughed again. "Ah, yes, you are most definitely not a simple doll for you to react like that."
Irisviel internally twitched, he'd said that just to test her?
Harry's lips curled upwards into an amused smirk, and Irisviel found herself almost huffing at his playful manner, it was a refreshing change to Saber's rigidity and knightly honour.
"You know, I almost wish we'd summoned you for this war." Irisviel found herself saying, much to her own surprise as she hadn't meant to say that.
"Oh really?" Harry asked. "Why is that?"
Having already spoken, Irisviel saw no harm in elaborating. "Well, you do seem to be pretty powerful, which is always a good thing, and you seem awfully perceptive too, but you also seem far more... relaxed and laid back than the other Servants. You almost seem to 'fit in' with the modern world."
Irisviel remembered Saber's comments about knowledge being imparted to her by the grail, but even with that, she stood out, and not just because of her looks. Saber's mannerisms, attitude, and outlook were very much old-fashioned, even Irisviel could see that, and she knew that she stood out herself, especially with her exotic looks.
"So it's got nothing to do with my dazzling charm and witty remarks? Oh, woe is me that the fair maiden wishes only for strength of arms and something pretty to look at." Harry sighed melodramatically.
Irisviel giggled, smiling. "Are you... flirting with me?" She had to ask.
Harry snorted. "I was accused of flirting with you last time we met. I decided to make a mockery of their opinion. Not too overdone, is it?"
She couldn't help it, Irisviel laughed at that. "No, it is fine. Now, would the gentlemen please escort the lady somewhere private so that we may have a little chat?"
Harry paused at her response. "You're either unaware of how much of a come on that sounded like, making you ridiculously naïve, or you're actually playing along with this. To be honest, I'm not sure which option would be better."
He then pulled her aside and stopped in front of a door that Irisviel could swear hadn't been there a moment before.
"Regardless, would the fair lady care to step inside? As a good host, I swear I have nothing but your best interests at heart." Harry said.
Irisviel agreed to step inside, but there was something about Avenger's last words that struck her as odd.
To be fair, she was unaware that Harry probably was the one with her best interests in mind at present.